COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONFrangelic Mountain Brown is the quintessential taproom “one-off” beer: Founders’ brewers created the Mountain Brown series for their taproom in Grand Rapids in 2007. Frangelic Mountain Brown is the 16th iteration in the series of popular brown ales—and it likely won’t be the last. The singular characteristic of this beer comes from the use of hazelnut coffees in the brewing process. The beer has distinct aromatics with sweet and nutty flavors beautifully balanced. Founders is known for its beers made with coffee (i.e., the Breakfast Stout series), but this is both the brewery’s first brown ale and its first beer brewed with hazelnut coffees to be bottled. It clocks in at 9% ABV.

Bottle thanks to my mom! Pours a clear amber with a grayish brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a strong earthy coffee note with a nice note of hazelnut with a bit of dark sweet grains. Flavor has a strong coffee note up front with a nice note of hazelnut and a hint of sweet dark grains.

750 ml bottle from Berkots (New Lenox, IL). Big props to my mother of all people on the pickup of these. Shared with the missus. Pours a rich brownish ruby hue, not opaque, actually just a touch of haze with rich deep midnight ruby glowing edges and bottom. Cakey bigger tan dulled head is pretty big, stays as a larger layer and laces well. Very nice look to it, especially as the light strikes it and preaches deeper brown and ruby glow. Aromas are hazelnut coffee, roasty and sweet, with cocoa, vanilla, and biscuity and toffee malt slant. You can tell it’s a flavored coffee, rich and roasty with an assertive hazelnut flavor, touches of Frangelico, coffee, and creamy sweetness. Toast, gentle roast that grows, largely influenced by the coffee. Initial is medium bodied, perhaps a bit heavier, with creamy sweet malt body. Coffee, creamer, hazelnuts, milk chocolate slanted. Biscuits, caramel, and toffee. An assertive stronger flavored front end moves into a sweeter touch more roasty middle/backend. Cocoa, caramel, coffee creamer, milk chocolate. Hazelnuts, toffee, and a touch of stickiness as we get into the backend, with lingering hazelnut, sweet coffee, and chocolate. Biscuits, toffee. A bit stickier and sweeter into the back with a touch of dryness, toast, and mellow coffee roast into the finish. Overall, a powerful inviting nose (albeit sweet) and assertive front that dies into a sweeter and more sticky backend. Pretty pour that keeps going. A bit unbalanced, coffee feels a bit sweet. Solid beer with some weaknesses, it’s points come mainly from the assertiveness of the flavors, making it at least unique, and it’s certainly a good flavor. But it’s sweet overall. Which gets a bit distracting and once you get past that main flavor, it gets a bit simple. Solid American Strong that certainly is one way to get those flavors out to the larger area (though I enjoyed their Brewpub’s Frangelic Porter considerably more).

Bottle. Split with Vinny and and big Boss Tom. Pours dark amber-brown with a creamy, khaki head. Aroma of chocolate chip cookie dough, vibrant, bold hazelnut, freshly ground coffee beans, and French vanilla. The mouthfeel is so soft, supple, sweet and subtly bitter. Taste is hazelnut coffee, beautiful, bittersweet dark chocolate, and smooth, creamy French vanilla. Finishes like velvet. This is an excellent ale in every regard. Well-balanced, flavorful, and spot-on for the concept. Founders is just so, so solid and creative. Fantastic.

UPDATED: AUG 3, 2012 Bottle, pours a dark amber plum shade, small to medium head, didn’t last that long, light sporadic lacing. Aromas of milk chocolate, hazelnut coffee, vanilla, and coconut. Taste is much of the same with cinnamon, roasted grain and a nice vanilla malt finish. A little hoppy with bitter coffee, but still refreshinroag for 9%. Light to medium bodied. Tasty but slightly too sweet. Rating score increased after having on tap at teresas. Fuller bodied, richer cocoa and coffee flavors. Excellent.

Bottle... Poured hazy brown with a thin head. Nose of hazelnut and simple syrup. This was super sweet. Reminded me of Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut coffee light and sweet. Pretty much one-dimensional in the hazelnut realm. A great dessert beer and for anyone who enjoys sweets. Roasted grains and coffee tone and hazelnut all the way to the finish.

Murky brown pour with a tight off white head. Huge, booming aroma full of sweet cream and hazelnut coffee, light vanilla and cocoa. Loved it so far. Flavors were similar, lots of sweet hazelnut, coffee, light bitterness throughout and a caramel/vanilla presence. The mouthfeel and texture were overall thin and unimpressive. Given the ABV I expected more in this area. I’m guessing they dried it out due to the sweetness of the hazelnut coffee, makes sense. This finished bittersweet and dry with a decent boozy presence. Nailed the aroma, lacked somewhat thereafter. Very drinkable nonetheless.

The pour is a hazy dark amber color with a khaki head. Nose is full of toasted nuts, sweet hazelnut, coffee, caramel, and chocolate. Sweet but still plenty of coffee to balance it out. Sweet on the palate as well. Hazelnuts, chocolate, and coffee dominate, but there is a nice caramel sweetness, some toasted malt, and a touch of vanilla. Nice and creamy on the palate as well.

UPDATED: JAN 11, 2013 Bottle,
this ale had a clear (it got a little hazy as poured towards the bottom of the bottle) ruby pour with dark brown at the top and sides of the glass, there was a one finger head of off-white bubbles that receded to a sparse cover and ring, the effervescence was mild in the glass, this beer left small spots and fingers of lacing on the sides of the glass, I found a wide ring of light colored brown sediment on the bottom of the bottle,
this ale had big aromas of sweet chocolate and hazelnut, roasted malt, and faint caramel with generous sweetness on the nose,
it had flavors of hazelnut, roasted malt, and hints of caramel and chocolate, the finish had a syrup like sweetness to it with roasted malt folowing,
the mouth feel was medium and felt creamy with a touch of a syrupy feel on the palate, and average carbonation,
it had a good nose, the flavors were ok, a nice blend of beer and hazelnut coffee.

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